An external floating roof tank is a type of storage tank that is configured to reduce the incidence of emissions of volatile compounds of product, such as petroleum-based materials, stored in the tank. The external floating roof of such a tank is designed to move vertically while maintaining a seal with the sidewall of the tank, so as to minimize the headspace of the internal tank volume. In some cases, the roof structure includes pontoons built therein that allow the roof to float directly on the surface of the product contained within the tank. Due to the configuration of the external floating roof, conventional maintenance systems used to clean or paint the sidewalls of storage tanks cannot be safely and secured mounted directly on the roof in order to carry out maintenance operations. Consequently, cranes are oftentimes used to raise a worker into position to clean or paint the internal side of the sidewall of an external floating roof tank, thereby making maintenance of such tanks more difficult, costly, and potentially hazardous.
Accordingly, there is a need for a support apparatus and support system that can be employed with various tank maintenance systems that can address one or more such limitations.